


Carpe Noctem (Seize the Night)

by TajaReyul



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character of Colour, Community: charlieficathon, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, One Shot, Prequel, Rare Pairings, Scar Worship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-02-03 14:44:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1748336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TajaReyul/pseuds/TajaReyul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After surviving Greyback's attack, Lavender found a home at the Romanian dragon reserve and a satisfying partnership with Charlie Weasley.  He'd like a little more from her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carpe Noctem (Seize the Night)

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the 2014 Charlieficathon on LJ. The prompt was: "Life is short and you are hot." Thanks to my beta, erumpentium. This is a prequel to _A Valentines Proposal_.

The sun beat down on the pair of dragonkeepers crouched behind an outcropping of rock, one dark with close-cropped hair, the other fair, but densely freckled with shaggy, ginger curls. They watched an Hungarian Horntail in the valley below, waiting for her to fall asleep. The Horntail had just indulged in a perfectly horrible feast of three goats and a sheep.

"You want to go to the pub when this is over, lift a few pints?"

The dark woman looked up. "I don't drink much anymore. The alcohol makes it difficult to keep my emotions in check."

"Sounds like fun to me," he said with a smirk.

"Then you have a strange sense of fun." She wiped her brow with the back of her wrist.

"C'mon, Lavender, just you and me and a pitcher of the local. Carpe a little diem. Life is too short, and you're--it's--too hot to stay that far buttoned up."

"I'm not going to the pub at all, much less with only you, like some kind of date."

He pursed his lips in a moue of mock disappointment. "Someone needs to unbutton you. Why not me? "

"I am perfectly capable of unbuttoning myself," she said repressively.

He smirked at her. "I wouldn't mind seeing that."

"Will you shut it," she hissed.

"If Hortense is eating like that, she's just clutched," Charlie said.

Lavender shook her head over his habit of naming the dragons. "That doesn't really make her less likely to be the culprit."

"If she was full of eggs it does. You know dragons avoid humans when they're gravid."

"Avoid, yes, but if they managed to corner her somehow..."

"Muggles?" Disbelief was evident in his tone.

"Have you met Hermione Granger?" she asked sarcastically.

"I have," he answered mildly. "Just because she's Muggle-born..."

"My point," she glared at him, "is that Muggles can be far braver and more resourceful than you think."

Charlie let her assertion pass without comment, and peeked over the boulder once more. "She's settling in. It won't be long now. Get your _Sommulus_ ready. I want her well under when we do our forensic investigation."

"I do know how to cast a sleeping spell," groused Lavender. "On your mark," she sighed when he gave her a stern glance.

The dragon soon fell into a sated slumber and they cast simultaneous sleeping spells, putting the Horntail into an enchanted coma. Charlie produced his Patronus and sent it back to the Reserve to tell them to be on the lookout for a recent Longhorn clutch. Then he and Lavender made their way down to the dragon suspected of killing a Muggle couple that had lived near the Reserve.

"You've got the claws and the tail spikes. I'll take the horns and the teeth," Charlie said, all teasing wiped away.

Lavender set about her assigned tasks, casting the forensic spells that would reveal human flesh or blood on the Horntail's primary natural weapons. She did the spells twice and both times came up with nothing. Reporting her results to Charlie, she asked, "You find anything?"

"Nothing," he said, frustration in his tone. "There should have been some trace, no matter how small."

"Could we have got the wrong dragon?"

"A wild dragon we didn't know about, living this close to the reserve? It's barely within the realm of possibility. It's far more likely someone killed that couple and made it look like a Horntail attack."

"But why?"

"That's for the Aurors to figure out. For right now, let's get her back inside the borders of the reserve. The wardens should have repaired the place where she got out by now."

Lavender grumbled a little under her breath. She was hot and sweaty, her scars were itching, and she really wanted a nap, but Charlie was right. They needed to get the Horntail back within the reserve's borders before their sleeping spells wore off. It took some doing, and several hours, but they finally got the dragon where she belonged.

"So, the pub?" Charlie flashed what he obviously hoped was a winning smile.

"I'm filthy, exhausted, starving, and it's after eleven. What do you think, Weasley?" she snarled.

"Fair enough. Bath first, or food?" He pulled his broom out of his pocket and returned it to its normal size.

Lavender wavered. Her stomach had been growling for the last half-hour, but her clothes were beginning to chafe. "Bath," she sighed, "and I can't even guarantee I won't fall asleep and drown before I make it to the dining hall." She got her broom out as well.

He laughed as if she hadn't been completely sincere. "If you manage to keep your head above the water, I'll treat you my speciality."

"What's your speciality?" she asked suspiciously, "because I'm not going to stay awake and undrowned for a sandwich and a glass of pumpkin juice." Then her stomach growled again.

His smirk made another appearance. "You sure about that?" he asked, throwing his leg over his broom and kicking off.

Lavender followed, shaking her head. This Weasley was certainly more charming than his younger brother. She wouldn't have thought he'd get enough social interaction this far out in the middle of nowhere to develop such flirting skills.

Of course, she wasn't the same girl she'd been back when she and Ron had dated. Greyback had made sure of that. There was no more taking male admiration as her due, no more dreams of white wedding dresses with lacy veils and no more naming her future children. Charlie's reflexive flirting aside, no one wanted to have a scarred and irritable mess like her for a quick shag, much less for a wife.

Forty-five minutes later, they landed in the main square of the Reserve's central compound and stowed their brooms in the shed. Most of the buildings were dark as the hour was after midnight. There was a light left burning in the bathhouse, though, for which Lavender was grateful as she ran tepid water in one of the tubs and stripped off her disgusting work robes. Her bra was so grimy she wanted to set fire to it and the less said about her sweaty knickers, the better.

She lay in the bath until the water had gone completely cold and her fingers and toes were pruney. Then she got out and threw her dirty clothes in the tub, using her wand to set them to agitating while she dried off and wrapped her towel around herself. When she levitated her clothes out, there was a fine layer of silt in the bottom of the tub. Lavender sighed. Dragonkeeping was dirty work, that was for certain.

Now that her outside was clean, her insides reminded her once again that she needed feeding. A quick dash across the square to the row of tents that housed all but the most senior dragonkeepers wasn't that much of a problem as it was dark. No one should be awake at this hour to see the ugly scars running down her neck and chest. Once in the safety of her tent, Lavender hung her wet clothes and her towel on the clothesline that ran behind the potbellied stove.

Lavender slipped into her oldest and most comfortable knickers, and threw a threadbare tee shirt on. Covering that with her softest robe, she shoved her feet into bunny slippers and set off for the dining hall. She was so hungry, she'd probably eat anything that Weasley cooked, even if it was half-scorched/half-raw horsemeat.

The dining hall was softly lit with candlelight and the glow from the dim embers in the big fireplace. The atmosphere almost felt romantic, but that was mad. Sure Weasley flirted with her, but he flirted with everyone, didn't he?

"There you are. I was worried I'd have to mount a search and rescue operation." Charlie walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates.

"My bed put up a strong argument, but I resisted. I had to see what your speciality was."

"I didn't say anything about my speciality being food, but dinner is bangers and mash. Cute shoes, by the way."

"I've spent more than enough time in boots over the past three days," she said defensively.

"I'm not criticising your fashion sense, Lavender," said Charlie patiently.

"Well, they reminded me of Binky. My pet rabbit that I had when I was a girl," she explained at his questioning look.

He nodded. "So, no pumpkin juice. Butterbeer or spicy tomato juice?"

"The tomato juice, please," Lavender said, taking a seat at the table.

He went back to the kitchen and returned with a large glass and a brown bottle. "Dig in," he said, placing the glass in front of her.

She did so, just barely remembering not to wolf her food down. When she was nearly finished, she felt something wet hit her cheek. "What the bloody...?" She brushed at her cheek and her hand came away with a glop of mash. "Weasley, you idiot. What are you playing at?"

"Oh, you remembered that I was here. Brilliant."

She gaped at him.

"It was like watching Hortense gobbling those goats earlier."

"I told you I was hungry," she snapped. "Why are you always picking at me?"

"There's a difference between teasing and bullying. I thought that, after a year of partnering up, you wouldn't be so prickly over a little ribbing. I told you earlier you're too far buttoned up. Relax a little, Lavender."

"I can't let myself relax, as you well know." She pushed back from the table and got up.

"Done already? I think there's still an ort of mash left on your plate." His blue eyes invited her to laugh along with him.

She didn't laugh, but picked up her plate, and saying sweetly, "Here, you have it." She tipped it into his lap, making him jump up from his seat.

He responded by grabbing her glass of tomato juice and throwing the dregs in her face. She punched his shoulder, hard. He merely grunted and grabbed her wrist before she could hit him again. To her shock, he pulled her close and smashed their mouths together. She tasted blood as her teeth nicked the inside of her lower lip.

Something in Lavender broke then. Perhaps it was her exhaustion, but she was so tired of keeping quiet, of holding back, of denying her baser urges. Without breaking their liplock, she grabbed Charlie's biceps and, taking him by surprise, turned him and backed him into the table. Keeping him pinned against it with her hips, she moved her hand to the back of his neck and swept her tongue into his mouth.

He moaned an approving noise and spread his large hands out over her back, moulding her torso to his muscular chest. She stretched on her tiptoes to put her knee up on the table beside his hip and rock her pelvis against him.

He pulled his head back and sucked in a deep breath. "Lavender, wait, wait. Merlin I can't believe I'm stopping you, but are you sure this is what you want?"

She groaned in frustration. "After all that picking and prodding, that load of dragon dung about wanting to unbutton me, now you're activating the Braking Charm?"

"Not exactly. I just want to make sure you're not going to regret this in the morning, well, later on today. I don't just want a quick shag, as wonderful as that might be. I want to do this again and again."

Lavender let him go and stepped back. She stared at him for long enough for the spices in the tomato juice he'd thrown in her face to start making her scars itch. "All right," she said finally. She didn't know why he wanted a relationship, but she was lonely and tired of being horny all the time.

This time Charlie drew her to him slowly. When his arms were wrapped firmly about her waist, he bent his head and licked the tomato juice from one of the scars on the side of her face. The sensation was electric, but the act of him paying attention to her scars was humiliating and she squirmed in his embrace.

"Stay still," he growled. "The acid in the juice will inflame your scar tissue."

"Then let me go wash my face in the kitchen sink."

"No, I only just got you to agree to this. I don't want to let you go." He licked her neck this time, pulling a whimper out of her. "Besides," lick, "I think you like this."

He was right and he was wrong. His tongue on her scars felt amazing and him licking them was making her hotter than she had ever been in her life. She had no idea the ugly reminders of a werewolf attack would be another erogenous zone. On the other hand, there was a reason she no longer owned a mirror. In desperation, Lavender cupped the prominent bulge in the front of his trousers as distraction and possibly incentive to move his attention to more traditional targets.

Her move backfired. "You really do like that, don't you?" Charlie murmured in what was left of her heavily-scarred ear and gave it a lick as well.

Lavender moaned and stopped fighting. He nibbled along the ruined edge and whispered endearments to her. Suddenly, the tension in her snapped as she shouted and came.

"...that's it, just let go, love," he was encouraging softly when she floated back to herself.

"Erm," she began, embarrassed.

"You did just have an orgasm, right?"

"Yes," she muttered.

"Want to have another?"

"If I say yes, are you going to gloat?"

"Nope. I know which side my bread is buttered on, and Lavender?" he paused until she met his gaze. "You really butter my bread."

"Could you be any more cheesy?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"I was just talking about bread and butter," he teased. "If you want cheese, that's a whole different matter."

"Shut up and shag me," she returned, working at the laces on his trousers.

"Your wish is my command." Turning her around, he bent her over the table, hiking her robe up to her waist. He finished loosening his dragonhide trousers, and pushed them down to his knees. Then he simply ripped her knickers off her and surged into her with one stroke. Charlie only gave her a moment to adjust before pulling out and slamming back in. After the first few repetitions of this, Lavender started pushing back against his every thrust, and he picked up the pace. She knocked their dishes on the floor, scrabbling for a grip on the edge of the table. He grasped her shoulders for leverage, and she could hear the wet slapping sounds their bodies made as they collided again and again.

"Are you going to come for me, Lavender? I can tell you want to, you're so wet."

She moaned, driven beyond the ability to form coherent words.

He leaned over to speak into her scarred ear again. "I've wanted to fuck you for a long time now, did you know that? Ever since you faced down that Swedish Short Snout that was trying to roast you. Merlin, I wanted to rip your clothes off right then and there and shove my cock in your sweet cunt. Mmm, that's another thing: I want to eat your pussy until you come and come. I want to rub my face in it until I can't smell anything but you for days..."

He continued but Lavender couldn't hear the words any more, she only felt the vibrations of his husky growl in the scarred mess of her ear. His voice pinned her on the very edge of an orgasm. She couldn't do anything but shudder and whine underneath him. Suddenly, he pulled out and flipped her over, catching her under her knees and pushing them up to her armpits. One of her slippers flew off in the process. She didn't even have time to be embarrassed about the awkward position before he was back in her and pounding away.

"Look," he ordered. "You see how wet you are? Do you see how _beautiful_ you are, how beautiful we are together? Look."

She obeyed, raising up on her elbows as far as she could manage to watch his cock pistoning in and out of her. He was right, she was so wet that his pubic hair was darkened with her juices. Then he pinched her clit, dark purple and more swollen than she had ever known it to be, triggering the strongest orgasm she'd had in her life. She didn't even feel it when her head thunked to the table.

"Yes!" he shouted, and he gripped her hips to thrust one more time.

She felt him jerking inside her and watched him shudder as he came. It dragged her orgasm out longer than she thought was even possible. When she finally caught her breath and her aftershocks had faded, she slowly let her legs down until they were hanging off the edge of the table. He scooped her up in his arms to kiss her passionately while still buried balls-deep in her quim. They snogged until he went soft and slipped out of her.

"Let's," she croaked and then cleared her throat and tried again. "Let's get this mess cleaned up."

He stepped back to let her hop off the table. Her knees buckled and he caught her before she fell. "Are you all right?" he asked, laughter lurking beneath his concern.

"Yes," she said exasperatedly, getting her feet back under herself. Lavender turned to take stock of the damage they'd caused. A wet stain on the edge of the table shone accusingly. "For Merlin's sake, Weasley, clean that up," she groaned in mortification. She busied herself repairing the dishes that had broken and gathering them up. Taking them to the kitchen, she left them in the sink. When she returned, he'd managed to get the stain removed from the wood. "It reeks of sex in here," she said, and started casting air freshening charms.

"I'm reasonably sure we're not the first to have sex in the dining hall."

"I don't care. Everyone's going to know we're shagging within a day or two, I don't want them to know we did the deed on the table. And, by the way, we're eating all our meals at that table from now on. I think I'd die if someone else had to eat their breakfast where we shagged."

"Dragonkeepers aren't that squeamish, love."

"Humour me," she gritted.

"Whatever you want. Yours or mine?"

"What?"

"I told you I wanted to shag you, or some variation thereof, more than once. In fact I was rather specific about some of the things I wanted to do with you."

"Yes, all right." Not for the first time, Lavender was grateful that her complexion didn't show blushes very well. "Yours. Your neighbours are further away from you."

"Two words: Imperturbable Charm."

"Four words: Where are my knickers?"

He held out his hand. Her knickers were wadded up in his fist. "Thought I'd keep them as a souvenir. I'm afraid I properly ripped them."

"Dammit, Weasley, those were my most comfortable pair."

"I could try _Reparo_."

"Never mind, let's carpe some diem. I want to be done and back in my tent before it gets light."

"Noctem," he corrected. "Technically we're seizing the night, not the day."

"If you want to shag me again tonight, you will get your arse moving," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a wide grin.


End file.
